German brand's new naming strategy highlights anomaly of B-Class hatch

Mercedes-Benz B-Class to be re-named

The smartest Mercedes-Benz hatch is set to score an A-plus and graduate to a new class.

The family-friendly B-Class, a tall boy version of the popular A-Class range, looks likely to adopt a new badge to better align itself with Mercedes-Benz's new over-arching naming strategy.

The three-pointed star is in the process of rationalising its line-up, having announced that mainstream models will be categorised along four channels based on A-Class, C-Class, E-Class and full-sized S-Class families.

SUV models based on those will be named GLA, GLC, GLE, GLS while the SLK roadster will shift to SLC, a strategy that should make it easier for consumers to understand what a car's role is and how it fits in the market.

But the B-Class currently sits on its own, outside of the box, prompting questions about its future within the range.

While the concept of a more spacious hatch will likely remain, it is expected the next B-Class due in 2017 will fall back into the A-Class range, adopting an additional moniker such as Plus to denote its additional space.

"We will not eliminate the current B-Class but I think long term everything has to fit in that grid.

"I don't know what would be the name. GLB is not a good name. [But] B is not A."

The strategy is an important one for a brand looking to avoid the sort of confusion BMW wrought in splitting two-door models away from four-door siblings, then building four-door versions of the former. The relationship between that brand's near-mechanically identical four-door 3-Series sedan, two-door 4-Series coupe and four-door 4-Series GranCoupe is complex enough before considering the classification catastrophe that is BMW's 2-series family name shared by several cars including a high-performance coupe and egg-shaped family hatch that share little mechanical commonality.

When asked whether Mercedes-Benz was looking to explore any gaps in its model range to try and create yet another niche product, Wagoner says the brand is just as likely to consolidate its line-up by reducing the variety of cars it sells.

The design boss inherited the conservatively styled B-Class hatch from his predecessor, unlike the current A-Class, CLA-Class and GLA SUV that were born under his guidance.

Tellingly, for a brand that has shaped itself around performance and technology in recent years, the B-Class is also the sole model line in the Mercedes-Benz range that does not include a high-performance version built by AMG, and a spokesman for the brand says there are no plans to do so.